09 January 2013

Reflection: Someone Named Julie Jackson

Teach Like a Champion just profiled a teacher named Julie Jackson. Apparently she was Teacher of the Year in her first year of teaching. Students' scores were through the roof when compared to nearby or previous years' scores.

But I'm going to be an antagonist here, because of what the book says at the end:

She leaves her own two children... at 5:25 AM to ride the bus with her students and is not home until 8:00 PM. After spending time with her family, she often flips open her laptop and e-mailes until late in the evening.

I don't intend to excuse myself from good teaching practices, but that's insane. Either they're exaggerating and that is an extenuating circumstance rather than a common practice, or I feel very sorry for her family.

Or maybe I'm just lazy and using my family as an excuse to not work that hard.